Pneumatic conveying means



April 14, 1942. J. J. FERLIN 2,279,306

I I PNEUMATIC CONVEYING MEANS Filed Aug. 4,'1940 4 Sheets-Sheet, i

By JZHN JbSEPh HERA/N ATTORNEY April 14, I942.

J. J. FERLIN PNEUMATIC CONVEYING MEANS Filed Aug. 4, 1940 yaw/.14

Ch W

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A T TORNE Y Filed Aug. 4, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 nwavro/e 0 5y JEA 75.5fm fERl/A/ I ATTORNEY April 14, 1942. J. J. FERLIN PNEUMATIC CONVEYING MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 4, 1940 I INVENTORY. By JEHNJOJEPA/FEKUN ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, .1942

UNITED STAT-ES PATENT OFFICE 2,279,306 a i PNEUMATIC CONVEYING MEANS John Joseph Ferlin, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor,

by direct and mesne assignments, to Ed Westberg and Louis Swarthe, trustees I Application August 4, 1940, Serial No. 351,318 (01. 302-17) 8 Claims.

This invention relates to conveying means and particularly pertains to pneumatic conveying means.

In the handling of comminuted materials, such as sand, gravel, grains, copra and the like, these materials are often conveyedin bulk, as for'exthe containers .by hoisting mechanism and then moved by stevedores to the dock-where the containers may be emptied into a bin if desired. In view of the fact that ships and freight carsmust be loaded and unloaded rapidly, it is desirable to convey thematerial from the hold of the ship to storage bins, or vice versa, with as little delay as possible. It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide portable means which may be easily moved from place to place such as when lowered into the hold of a ship or'into a storage bin, and which portable means will act to gather material to be conveyed and to thereafter conduct it through suitable conveying conduits by pneumatic means .to a remote point of placement, the. structure being simple and effective in operation, self-loading, and is designed so as to insure that the material conveyed thereby will not only be discharged at a remote point but may be elevated to any desired height required in the transfer of the material from one point to another.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a conveying unit which may be disposed at a point of rest 'on bulk material to be conveyed, and. which. structure will then act. to gather in the material, thereafter imparting a mechanical conveying action to it, as wellas a pneumatic conveying action, so that the material will be forced into and through a conduit to a point of discharge.

Theinvention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing the complete unit with which the present invention is concerned.

Fig, 2 is a view in central vertical section through the structure as seen on the line 2-2 of Fig. 5. i

Fig. 3 is a view in transverse section through the structure as seen on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and shows the arrangement of the. gathering blades.

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse-section: as seen able: point of discharge.

on the line l4 of Fig. 2 and shows the end chamber.

Fig. 5 is a view in transverse section. through the structure as seen on the line-'5'5'of Fig. 2 and shows the gear drive arrangement and indicatesbydotted lines the position of the driving motor. Fig- 6 is. a, view drawn at a reduced scale and indicates the application of the present invention showing the. manner in which the structure is positioned to restaon a quantity of bulk materialand to gather this material, 7

Referring more particularly to the drawings, Hlindicates the gathering and conveying structure with which the present invention isconcerned. A conduit llleads therefrom to a suit- In Fig. 6 a body of finely dividedmaterial, such asgrain, isindicated at? l2, and is shown as held in aibarge or the like 13 from which the material is elevated to the point of discharge.

.The gathering and conveying device comprises an. outer housing which includes an. upper semicylindrical section l4 and a lower guard section l5. Theupper housing section is formed with a semi-cylindrical-wall I6 carrying annularend sections I! and Ill. The annular end sections .11 and-l8 are continuous and are concentric with each other. These sections occur at opposite ends of the semi-cylindrical section. On the horizontal median plane of "the strueturelare faces l9 defined by bolting flanges 20.1 Aspace occurs between the annular members 11 and :IB and below the faces I9, asindicated at 2!." This provides a. semicircular opening. through which the material to be conveyed gains. access to the gathering. and) conveying structure, .as willxbe hereinafter described. .Thissemicircular .open

space is .partially closed by a grillwork whichincludes apluralitygof parallel spaced grill rods 22 and a longitudinally disposed, grill rodv 23. .The longitudinallydisposed grill rod 23 extends from .the annular member llof thelhousing to the andue to this arrangement that the entire struc-' ture lll'may be disposedito rest upon a mass of material which is to. be conveyed, and that the structure willin effect burrow its way down into the mass of material as the mass of material is carried away. It is 'not necessary, therefore, to

provide laborers to feed the. material into the machine. .The annular members. I1 and 18, as showniparticularly in Fig. 2 of thedrawings, are

relatively heavy and will support the structure on the mass of material to be conveyed. The

upper semicircularmernber of thef.hou'sing is pipe 2] communicates with this chamber and A supplies .air under pressure' fora purpose tob'e,

hereinafter described. The air is delivered at'a" pressure of approximately 70 pounds per square inch, although other pressuresimight be used? 1 Formed through an inner wall 28 of the semi-. circular housing section I4 is a plurality of "'air" the top of the housing structure Hand-is seducts 29.; These .ductsare inclined to a radius line of the housing, the inclination being-counter to the. direction of rotation of a gathering structure .which'will be hereinafter described. The

gathering structure 30 includes opposite annular formed with a. plurality of longitudinally extending blades 36, as particularly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. These blades extend radially, as-

represented by the inner face of the 'housing wall 28. .By reference. to Fig-3 it will be seen that while the gathering blades move in the direction of thearrow a, they will pursue a semir '2 5 mounted ofi center with relation to the center circular path of travelwhich is directly above the grillstructurecomprising-members 22 and 23, and that as the grill rods settle down into the material upon whichthe gathering and conveying structure rests the blades willtend to the drawings, it will beevident thata substan gather the loosemateri'al passing between the rods and will cause it to be drawn away from the area upon which the structure is resting. so that other material may fillin from the sides and be continuously fed to thedevice. The gathering blades 36 do not represent the entire radial length of the interior of the housing structure from its center toits circumferential wall but are arranged to travel around a tubular conveyor cylinder 39. This'cylinder is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawingsv ashaving a wall formed with a feed throat 40 through it in its uppermost area. The feed throat 40 extends longitudinally of the cylinder and permits material gathered bythe blades 36 to be dumped through the feed throat 62 and GBis tubular and receives air under pres- 40 and into the cylinder 39 .for a purpose to be hereinafter. described' The blades 36 are rein webs 4 I These webs extend'downwardly through slots 42 in the cylinder 39 as indicated at 43.

ply. Openings H formed through the end of This insures that the material gathered "bythe blades .36 will be distributed uniformly through the throat 43." At the discharge end of the housing the cylinder 39yis provided with an eccentrically .disposed tubular projection which 1 extends outwardly and is supported in a counterbore 45 of a discharge fitting 46. The fitting 43 is secured by bolts" 4'! to an end plate 48. The

gathering structurearound'the axis ofthe'cylinder 39." The opposite end' of 'the gathering The tips of 5 30 pied by the axis of the cylinder 39 so that the The annular chanstructure which carries the annular channel 34 is fitted with an internal ring gear 5|, as shown inthe drawings. In .mesh with this gear is a driving pinion 52 by which the ringgear and 5 ..the gathering structure are caused to rotate in -the direction of the arrow a, as indicated in Fig. 7?3; :The pinion" 52 is mounted upon a shaft 53.

carried in suitable.bearings 54. These bearings are supported in the end plate 55 which is se- 10 cured to the annular portion I8 of the housing.

Mounted on the outer end of the shaft 53 is a gear 56. which is in mesh with the gear 51. The gear. 51 is mounted upon shaft 58 of a driving motor 59; The driving motor is mounted upon cured therewithso that the entire gathering and conveying means may be lifted bodily and moved from place to place. Suitable hoisting ringsfil) are secured to the motor and are so disposed as 0 to insure that the load of the motor. and the en: tire conveying device will be properly balanced when the conveying structure. is lifted. p v The gear 53 is in mesh with a pinion 6|. This pinion is mounted upon the end portion 52 of a screw conveyor shaft 63. The screw conveyor shaft extends longitudinally through the conveyor cylinder 39 but is disposed eccentrically to the longitudinal axis of this chamber-and is offset downwardly in the vertical plane occuouter edge of the conveyor screw, atits low:

ermost point of; travel will be close to'and directly above the lower inner face of the. cylinder 39. The screw conveyor shaft is, however,

of extension 44 of the cylinder 39 and extends from'the end wall to a point adjacent the outer end of the extension 44. By this. arrangement, particularly as shown in Figs. 3 land 4 of picked up byLthe gathering device andfed into the cylinder 39 through the throat 49 may pass without possibilityv of becoming. choked ,injthe structure or causing the device to be ,clog'ged dur- 7 ing operation. Thefend 62. of the conveyorfshaft 50 63 adjacent to the pinion'ifi'l supported in a suitable bearing 31;] The Iopposite end is reduced in diameter as indicated at 38 and is rotatably supportedin the discharge fitting 43.

The portion of the shaft33 'betweenthe ends sure which is conductedthrough the shaft'to the dischargefitting 46. The airunder. pressure is delivered through an opening 10 connected with a suitable conduit leading toa source of air supthe tubular shaft 63 adjacent to the shaft tion 52 permit air to pass into the shaft; At the opposite end ofthe shaft 63-are openings". Theseopenings are inclined'and extend divergently so that jets of air will be projected into the mass of material which is being .moved forwardly from the end of the screw propeller. and into-the throat '13 of the discharge'fitting 46. The discharge fitting 46 has a diameterjat its 0 inner end agreeing with the diameter of theextension 44 of the cylinder 39. The outer endof thedischarge fitting is .reduced'in diameter and thus provides a constricted passageway into which theair under pressure and the suspended 5 solids are, forced. 'The outer endof the discharge fitting 48 carries the flexible conduit I I which may be led to any suitable point ofdischarge. The source of air under pressure is also connected by a conduit to-the connection 21 by which itis forced into the chamber 26.

In operation of the present invention the structure is assembled as here shown and is provided with electric connections for the motor 59 leading from a suitable source of electric supply and conduits from a source of pneumatic supply which-connect with the members 21 and I0. The structure is then caused to rest upon the mass of divided material I2, such as grain, copra, or other materials, at'which time the weight of the structure will cause the grillrods I to become imbedded inthe material to be conveyed so that the blades 36 will scoop this material up and carry it in the direction of the arrow a to a point where it will fall through the throat as and into the cylinder 39. The

gathering blades are traveling at approximately.

10 R. P. M. The material will be aided inits movement through the throat 42 by air passing through the jet openings 29 in the wall 28 of the upper housing I4, stated, has been delivered through a conduit to the connection 21, and it has been found that a suitable pressure for the airwould be of the order of '70 pounds. It will be understood that this pressure may be changed to meet different conditions. Air is also delivered through the pipe 10 to the passageway H of the conveyor shaft 63. Due to the fact that the blades 36 create a seal with the semi-cylindrical wall I6- of the upper housing section I4, the air which enters the upper housing section I4 through the.

jet openings 29 will act upon the material dumped through the throat 40 into the cylinder 39 and will tend to aerate this material, acting to suspend the material to a certain degree and insure that it will be uniformly presented to the screw conveyor blade 64. This conveyor is driven at a speed of th order of 160 R. P. M. The material will then be moved lengthwise and carried into the threat 13. Here it will be given a further impelling action by the jets of air passing outwardly through the jet openings 12 of the screw conveyor shaft 63. This material will then be conducted through the conduit I I to the point ofdischarge.

It will thus be seen that th apparatus here disclosed is portable so that it may be moved easily from place to place and set in position in immediate proximity to material which is to be conveyed. It will further be noted that by the construction here disclosed itis not necessary for any intermediate handling of material from one point of storageto another or for any other conveying mechanism to be used other than the flexible conduit attached to the conveying structure. It will also be recognized that material may be easily conveyed without any injury to the material itself.

This air, as previously l conveyed, whereby the" material may: pass through the opening, I a'chamber withinlsaid housing having an open throat in its upper side, gathering means for gathering the material passing through the opening-in the housing and delivering it to said throat whereby itmay be discharged into the chamber, a connection to saidchamber for delivering air'under pressure, anda conduit leadingfro'm the chamber and through which the material which has been 'de-' livered thereto may be conveyed by the airunder pressure. V a 2. A portable pneumatic conveying device comprising an outer housing, which has an opening in its lower side, said housing being adapted I chamber for delivering air under pressure, a

conduit leading from the chamber and through which the material which has been delivered thereto may be conveyed by the air under pressure, and a screw conveyor within said chamber for conveying materiallengthwise thereof;

3. A portable pneumatic conveying device comprising an outer housing, which has an opening in its lower side, saidhousing being adapted to rest upon comminuted material to be con-- veyed, whereby the material may pass through the opening, a chamber within said housing having an open throat 'in' its upper'side, gathering means for gathering the material passing through th opening in the housing and delivering it to said throat whereby it may be discharged into the chamber, a connection to said chamber for delivering air under pressure, a

conduit leading from the chamber and through which the material which hasbeen delivered thereto may be conveyed by the air under pressure, a screw conveyor within said chamber for conveying material lengthwise thereof, and a self-contained power unit carried upon the housing of the structure and driving the gathering means and the screw conveyor.

4. A portable pneumatic conveying device comprising a substantially cylindrical housing structure adapted to rest upon a mass of comminuted material in bulk, a grill forming the lower wall portion of said housing wherebymaterial upon which the structure rests may pass throughthe grill openings and into the housing, a centrally disposed conveyor chamber Within said housing and extending longitudinally thereof, said' chamber having an opening in'its upper wall, gathering means within the housing and moving around the conveyor chamber whereby material which has passed through the grill into the housing will be engaged and carried upwardly to be discharged through the opening into the conveying cylinder, a connection for delivering air under pressure to the housing adjacent its top, jet openings fordirecting jets of air under pressure into said housing and through the opening in the wall of the conveying cylinder,

whereby the material discharged from the gathering means will be moved into and through the conveying cylinder, and a conduit connected with the end I of the conveying cylinder and through which the air'under pressure will carry the material to be conveyed.

wall, gathering means within the housing and moving around the conveyor chamber whereby material which has passed through the grill into the housingwill be engagedand carried upwardly to be discharged through the opening into the conveying cylinder, aconnection. for delivering air under pressure to the housing adjacent its top, l t Openingsfor directing jets of air under pressure into said housing and through the opening in the wall of the conveying cylinder, where: by :the material discharged from the gathering means will be-moved into and through the conveying cylinder, a conduit connected with the end of the conveying cylinder andthrough which the air under pressure will carry the material to be conveyed, anddriving means included as a part of said device for actuating the gathering means. r

6. A portable pneumatic conveying unit comprising a. housing structure formed with a pair of ring members spaced apart and disposed upon a horizontal axis, an upper semi-cylindrical wall section disposed between said rings and lying in the plane above the axis, a semi-cylindrical grill disposed between the rings and lying in the planebelow the axis, said assembled structure being designed to rest with the grillwork bearing upon a mass of bulk xcomminuted material to be conveyed, a conveying cylinder disposed centrally of the structure and enclosed within the housing formedby the semi-cylindrical section and the grill,,said conveying cylinder being o qa diameter considerably less than that of the housing wherebyan, annular space will occur around the conveying cylinder, a gathering unit including a plurality of circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extending blades mounted to travel in said annular space and to gather material passing through the grill beneath the conveying cylinder and carrying it upwardly to a point above the conveying cylinder, a throat through the upper wall of the conveying cylinder and into which the material from the gathering blades may be discharged as the gathering blades travel across said opening, an air chamber formed in the upper wall of the housing above said throat and being connected with a source. of air under pressure, jet openings and to, gatherematerial passing through the grill beneath thezconveying cylinder and carrying it upwardly to .a point above the conveying cyl-.

inder, a throat through the upper wall of the conveying cylinder and into which the material from the gathering blades may be discharged as, the gathering blades travel across said opening, an air chamber formed in the upper wall of thehousing'above said throat and being connected with a source of air under pressure, jet

openings formed through the wall of said chamber-to direct ,air downwardly across the annular space occurring; between the housing and the cylinder and whereby, pneumatic pressure will be built up within the cylinder, a discharge conduitconnected with said cylinder through which material may be conveyed, and a screw I conveyor within said cylinder moving the mateformed through the wall of said chamber to diof ring members spaced'apart and disposed upon a horizontal axis, an upper semi-cylindrical wall section disposed between said rings and lying in the plane above the axis, a semi-cylindrical grill disposed between the rings and lying in the plane belowthe axis, said assembled structure being designed to'rest withthegrillwork driven.

rial toward the discharge end thereof.

, 8. A portable pneumatic conveyingunit comprising a housing structure formed with a pair of ring-members spaced apart and disposed upon a horizontal axis, an upper semi-cylindrical wall section disposed between-said rings and lying in the plane above the axis, a semi-cylindrical grill disposed between the rings and lying in the plane below the axis, said assembled structure being designed to rest with the grillwork bearing upon a mass of bulk comminuted material to be conveyed, a conveying cylinder disposed centrally of the structure and enclosed within the housing formed by the'semi-cylindrical section and the grill, said conveying cylinder being of a diameter considerably less than that of the housling whereby'an annular space will occur, around theconveying cylinder, a gathering unit including a plurality of circumferentially spaced and longitudinally extending blades mounted to travel in said annularspace and to gather material passing through the grill beneath the conveying cylinderand carrying it upwardly to a point above the conveying cylinder, 9. throat through the upper wall of the conveying cylinder and into'which'the material from the gathering blades may be discharged as the gathering blades travel across said opening, an air chamber formed in the uppenwall of the housing above said throat and being connected with a source of air under pressure, jet openings formed through the wall of said chamber to direct air downwardly acrossthe annular space occurring between the housing; and the cylinder and whereby pneumatic pressure will be built up within the cylinder, a discharge conduit connected with said cylinder through which material may be conveyed, a screw conveyor within said cylinder moving the material toward the discharge end thereof, means for delivering jets of air to the discharge end of the screw conveyor, and a unitary drive structure by which the gathering -means and the screw conveyor are Joni: JOSEPH FERLIN. 

